


Colours

by Misha Berry (MishaDerps)



Series: Contest Winners [16]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics)
Genre: Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, F/F, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Internal Conflict, Light Angst, Stephanie Brown is Robin, you pick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MishaDerps/pseuds/Misha%20Berry
Summary: Batgirl meets the new Robin, and she's not sure she likes this development.





	Colours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ImNeverSatisfied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImNeverSatisfied/gifts).



> This took my ages to start, but like two days to finish. I had a lot of fun with this because I feel like I don't get to write with Steph and Cass very often even though I really love them both. I went with some soft angst because of all the canon shit that happens around Steph being Robin.

Cass knew immediately that something was different the moment she saw Robin in the distance. Robin was moving all wrong, like he was a completely different person. As Cass got closer, she noticed the flash of blonde hair and realized that it  _ was _ a different person. The person she was used to seeing in purple was now traipsing around in Robin’s colours.

Shocked and intrigued by this development, Batgirl followed Spoiler (Robin?) at a distance, trying to figure out what was going on. Cass hadn’t seen Tim in a few weeks, but sometimes that could happen if there was a large case or something that was taking up a lot of his time, but she hadn’t heard about anything like that going on. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Spoiler in a while either. What was going on?

Spoiler/Robin let out a ‘whoop’ as she swung through a high arc, well over the city streets. For a second, it looked as though she might take off into the air, fly away into the night sky. Cass’s heart seized in her chest at the thought.

_ Take me with you _ , the thought skittered through her mind,  _ Don't leave me behind _ .

The terror only lasted a moment as Spoiler/Robin began to fall back towards Gotham, firing her grapple at the last possible moment, the kind of move that should only be done by someone with years of experience, but Steph had never cared about that. Batgirl followed along behind her for several more blocks before Spoiler/Robin finally joined a tall shadow on the roof of a warehouse.

Batgirl alighted on the rooftop some distance away. She was immediately spotted by Batman, but Spoiler/Robin remained oblivious until Batgirl was practically right next to her.

“Geez!” Steph yelped, jolting as Cass seemed to materialize out of the shadows. “Damn, you startled me”

“Spoiler?” Cass asked, still so confused. Why was Steph wearing Robin’s uniform? Where was Tim?

Steph’s face broke into a bright smile, practically glowing in the rare Gotham starlight. Cass’s heart fluttered a few paces. “I’m Robin now!” Steph exclaimed excitedly. “Isn’t that the coolest thing ever!?”

“Robin?” Cass asked, still trying to figure it out. She looked to Batman to try and decipher what was going on.

“Robin could no longer continue his duties,” Batman explained, “So I chose Spoiler to fill the role.”

Cass frowned, something cold rolling over in her gut. Even through her mask, Steph was able to tell what Batgirl was thinking. “Hey, he’s okay,” Steph said soothingly, stepping toward Cass and laying a hand on her shoulder. “He just had some family stuff to deal with.”

“Okay?” Cass asked, putting her hand over Steph’s on her. “Is he… okay?”

Steph’s smile turned a little sad. “He’s fine, I promise,” she said, “He just… he can’t be Robin anymore.”

She was telling the truth, Cass could see it in every line of her body. She was trying to comfort Cass, trying to reassure her that Tim was fine, alive, in perfect health. Cass relaxed slightly, but the uneasy feeling in her stomach didn’t leave her. There was something about seeing Steph in the Robin uniform that unsettled her. It seemed unnatural somehow, out of place or at an odd angle. Cass couldn’t place it, but there was something  _ wrong _ with seeing Steph in the Robin colours.

Steph didn’t notice Cass’s discomfort, or if she did, she didn’t say anything. Steph’s smile brightened a little and she squeezed Batgirl’s shoulder. “Batman and I are following a lead on a drug dealer. Want to come with us?” she asked.

Batgirl looked to Batman, and she could see that he was just as anxious over this arrangement as she was, but he was trying to make it work. Cass looked back to Robin and nodded, trying to smile reassuringly. Robin grinned and tangled her fingers into Batgirl’s, tugging her along behind her.

The drug dealer they were tracking didn't end up being hard to find. In fact it was so easy that Batgirl suspected that Batman had chosen this case specifically for Robin, something easy to get her used to the work. Robin seemed excited and eager, but lacking in patience and too easily frustrated. Still, she was formidable as Robin, fighting fearlessly and hitting hard, trusting of Batman and Batgirl to have her back. There was certainly potential in this Robin, it only needed to be teased out properly.

Once the dealer and his warehouse was dealt with, Batman sent Robin and Batgirl away, back to the Cave. Robin argued for a short minute, wanting to help and stay with the rest of the investigation, but Batman wouldn't hear of it. Reluctantly, Robin followed Batgirl back through the city, her mood improving as they swung through the air. Robin dropped to a rooftop and motioned for Batgirl to join her.

“Let sit for a sec, we haven’t hung out in  _ ages _ ,” Steph said, sitting down on the edge of the high rise and looking down the dizzying height of the building to the streets below.

Cass sat next to Steph, watching her more closely. She seemed different, more vibrant, bigger somehow; she looked  _ happy _ . Cass loved seeing that on her, the radiance making her heart clench with something unkowable at this time, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong.

Steph noticed her staring and looked over, smiling and tilting her head. “What’s on your mind?” she asked, easy and playful.

Cass tried to think of the right words, tried to make the them make sense in her head. “It… doesn't suit you,” she said after a long moment.

Steph blinked, confusion and hurt bleeding through the happiness. Cass scrambled to make it better, to bring the happiness back. “The colours,” she said quickly, “I liked eggplant better.”

Steph relaxed. “Oh right,” she said, looking down at herself. “Yeah, I liked the eggplant better too. But  _ this _ ,” Steph ran a hand down her body, trailing her fingertips over the sleek lines of the Robin uniform, “Comes with so much more.”

_ You don't need more _ , Cass thought,  _ You’re perfect already _ . But she couldn't say this, not when Steph looked so pleased with herself. So Cass only smiled and hoped she would get used to the bright red, green, and yellow, that she would eventually stop missing the eggplant, that she could just be happy for her friend instead of worrying for her.

Steph eventually got up and stretched. “Come on, I’ll race you back!” she said, leaping off the building. Cass watched her for a moment, lost in the bold lines of her movements, before following her into the night sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my [tumblr](https://mishaberrywrites.tumblr.com/post/167533987865/mishas-fanfic-commissions) for more of my stuff.


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